


Out of Breath

by Guardian_of_Hope



Series: Huntress [2]
Category: Criminal Minds
Genre: Alternate Universe, Friendship, Mystery, Other, Suspense
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-06-22
Updated: 2011-12-12
Packaged: 2017-10-20 16:35:36
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 14
Words: 16,530
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/214787
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Guardian_of_Hope/pseuds/Guardian_of_Hope
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>There's a killer in Hawaii, and Anna lets one of her secrets come to light.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. What is

_For breath is life, and if you breathe well you will live long on earth. ~Sanskrit Proverb_

 

 

Anna was the last to arrive at the BAU, wrapped in a trench coat, with a knitted wool cap and leather gloves. She was also on the phone, "I'm fine, Dean," she told him, "have fun in Miami."

"Miami?" Derek said as Anna dropped her phone on her desk.

"Dean doesn't like being cold in the winter," Anna said as she pulled her gloves off and stuffed them in her coat pocket. "I don't either, as a matter of fact, but I've learned to live with it."

"Morning Anna," Elle said as she joined them, "how was your weekend."

Anna paused in the act of shrugging off her coat to smile, "I guess you could say it was a killer," she said, and then finished taking her coat off. Derek looked down at the report he'd been working on.

"What did you do to yourself?" Elle demanded.

Derek turned, "Oh my God, Anna," he said standing up.

Anna glared at him, "I'm _fine,_ " she ran her hand down her bruised arm; "my sparring partner just got a little enthusiastic ok? It's my own fault for letting my guard down." She pulled her hat off, and fluffed her hair, "Do you like?"

Derek eyed the white spikes for a moment, "Hotch is going to kill you," he said.

"I had hair this color naturally when I was a kid," Anna told him, "therefore; it's not against the rules."

"Nice eye," he told her as he stepped closer, studying her black eye.

"Like I said, I let my guard down," Anna replied, "I'm bruised and scraped and all, but my tetanus shots are up to date and I can kick unsub butt with the best of them."

"Good," J.J. said from the stairs, "we have a case."

Anna hesitated as Derek and Elle headed for the stairs, "Reid," she said, "can I have some of your coffee?"

Derek turned to find that the young genius had arrived, carrying a large mug of coffee as he closed a file and put it on his desk. "It's sweet," Reid said, and offered her his mug. "What happened by the way?"

"Derek," J.J. called.

Derek turned and hurried to catch up, wondering at how easy Anna had managed to charm Reid. "So are you," Anna was saying behind him. "Thanks, I had an unfortunate encounter with an old couch yesterday."

Derek frowned slightly at the story, wondering how it fit with her sparring story. Then he shook his head and walked into the conference room. Hotch and Gideon were waiting, already discussing the case while J.J. stood outside the door watching Reid and Anna. "Anna, are you ok?" J.J. asked.

"I'm fine," Anna snapped as she followed Reid into the room, "I mean, besides the fact that I really haven't had any coffee because my coffee machine busted, my new cell phone died and everybody keeps asking me if I'm ok. I'm fine, ok; I just had a rough weekend." She turned to them, "I just want to find out about our case."

"Did you go to the hospital?" Hotchner asked.

"No," Anna replied, "why would I do that?"

Hotchner eyed her for a long moment, "We'll discuss this after the briefing, J.J."

"This is Tyler Grey, Brianna Mitchell and Nia Porter," J.J. said, calling images up on the flat screen as Hotch passed out folders. "They have all been found strangled on the beach with an ace of hearts super glued to their forehead. They are college graduates from the University of Hawaii and considered up and coming professionals. The police also received these," J.J. added, and sketches of each victim appeared on the screen.

"Style's a little too black and white for me," Anna said, "but the strokes are steady. He's got talent; he's been drawing for a while."

"You know art?" Derek asked.

"Haven't a clue," Anna replied, "at least, not much beyond runes."

"Anyways," J.J. said, "Tyler was found a month ago, Brianna a week ago and Nia two days ago."

"He's escalating," Reid said. "Is there any sexual assault?"

"None," J.J. replied.

"You know, ace is another name for 'asexual'," Anna said, peering at one of the photos in her file. "Ace of hearts is for a panromantic asexual." She looked up and blinked, "What?"

"Are you trying to take over Reid's position of knowing random facts?" Derek asked.

"No," Anna replied, "I dated a panromantic asexual, best time of my life."

"All right," Hotch said, "wheels up in an hour. Anna, you're with me."

"What for?" Anna asked.

"You're going to the hospital," Hotch replied standing up.

"I'm about to willingly get on a plane for nine hours," Anna said, "are you really going to traumatize me by making me go to a hospital first?"

"Yes," Hotch replied.

"But I'm _fine,_ " Anna protested.

"Anna, you look like you came out the loser in a bar fight," Derek said.

"I'm not bruised enough for that," Anna replied.

"You're still going to the hospital," Hotch replied.

"If it makes you feel better," Derek said, "I'll come along."

"Fine," Anna said and shoved her chair back as she stood up. "Let's go."

Derek stopped Hotch, "I think it's safe to say that she really doesn't like hospitals."

"I wonder why," Hotch replied.

"Besides the obvious," Elle asked as she passed them.

Anna didn't speak to either of the male agents as they headed out to Hotch's van, and the ride to the hospital was uncomfortable at best.

Once the three of them boarded the plane, Anna picked a spot where she could sit and glare at everyone. "How is she?" Elle asked.

"Bruises and scrapes," Derek replied, "and a very interesting old injury."

Anna snarled, "I swear to Brigit, that man is going to get a malpractice suit when I get back. What the hell happened to doctor patient confidentiality?"

"You have a piece of metal the size of my palm lodged under your spine," Derek replied, "that sounds like something people should know about."

Anna growled again, but didn't actually speak as the plane took off. Once the seatbelt light went off, she stood up and stalked over, "For the record, I'm a Marine with a medical discharge." She leaned forward and looked at each of them for a long moment, "There was an explosion, I was hurt, but me and the Corporal got one of them out of the vehicle before it exploded. There wasn't enough left of the rest of them to fill a duffle bag. Excuse me for being unwilling to talk about it." She stalked back to her seat, pulled an MP3 player from her bag and a book.


	2. Up In The Air

They were somewhere over California when Anna jerked, "Sweet Morrigan," she growled, yanking off her headphones.

"What's wrong?" Reid asked, looking up from the case file.

Anna held up her MP3 player, "Battery's dead."

"Good," Jason said, "we need to go over the case again, if you would care to join us."

Anna nodded and moved to sit down closer to them, but still a bit outside the group. She slid the book she was reading onto the seat beside her. She pulled one knee to her chest and rested her chin on her knee. "The thing that sticks with me," Elle said, "is the lack of a sexual angle."

"That just means it isn't a sexual sadist." Derek replied, "Could they be a thrill killer?"

Anna cleared her throat, "I have a question," she said, "what if they're like, a revenge killer, or, or," she snapped her fingers, looking for a word, "mission oriented."

"What are you thinking?" Hotch asked.

Anna shrugged, "It's those cards, the ace of heart?" She tapped her fingers on the arm of her chair, "That's one of those symbols of a panromantic asexual. You can't tell if someone's asexual just by dealing with them or even date them. What if this guy dated a panromantic asexual and when the asexual told him that she didn't want to have sex, just date, he might have snapped."

"Anna," Derek began doubtfully.

"Imagine it," Anna said, sliding out of her chair, "you've met this girl, pretty, great personality, fun to be with." She leaned a little on the table towards Derek, "Your first date, she says she's old fashion, ducks your kiss and goes home. Second date, she maneuvers for a kiss on the cheek." She leaned forward a little more, meeting his eyes, an odd intensity lighting the green depths, "Third date, you kiss, but it's brief and she doesn't seem to be into it. Otherwise, your relationship is incredible; she's someone you think you can fall in love with." She pressed her hands onto Derek's, making him want to squirm. "Then she tells you, she's asexual, she doesn't care for, or want to have, sex. She's willing to have a relationship, as long as you stop pushing for sex. What do you do?" Anna pulled back and smiled, "You're a nice guy, you might date her a bit, but I think the lack of a sexual relationship would frustrate you. Eventually, you'll break up, and it'll probably stay amiable. She'll probably be one of your closest friends."

"You think that was what happened?" Derek asked.

"I think that was our trigger," Anna replied, retaking her seat. "I don't know what he's thinking in attacking the others, but in my theory that first kill wouldn't have had the card."

"Interesting theory," Hotch said, "we'll keep that in mind."

Derek watched Anna settle back and curl up again; wondering what was really going on with her. She smirked at him as she met his eyes, "The cards could be a message," Reid offered, "the DC snipers left the Death Card behind as a way to communicate with the police."

"What kind of message are they sending?" Derek asked, "I can't think of any connections to the ace of hearts."

The conversation continued for another hour, with no real working theories being produced beyond Anna's asexual story. At that point, they started drifting back to other pursuits, "What are you reading?" Derek asked Anna when Anna began to open her book.

"I'm trying to make a decision," Anna replied, "I have a few options in my continuing education so I'm trying to decide which way I go."

"Which way?" Derek probed.

"Yes," Anna said, "I can go for a doctorate, or I can pick another bachelor."

"What degrees do you have?" Reid asked.

"Masters in sociology and anthropology," Anna replied, "I want to go for doctorates, but with the schedule we keep, I'm going to have to focus on one at a time."

"Sociology and anthropology," Derek repeated, "interesting choice."

Anna's smile was sickly sweet and polite, "I am a cultural anthropologist, Derek. It's a new way to study and identify serial killers." She flipped open her book, "It's also the only way I could actually study my chosen field. American universities are so lacking in occult studies."

Reid produced a deck of cards, "Texas Hold'em?"

"I'll play," Derek said.

"You're wasting your money," J.J. said.

"I'll play," Anna offered with a grin. "I haven't had a good game in a while."

"Careful there, Anna," Elle said, "Reid's from Vegas."

Anna's grin faltered, "Take it easy on me then," she told Reid as she slid closer to the table where Reid was shuffling, "I haven't played in a while."

"Does anyone else want in?" Derek asked.

"No," Gideon said, and Hotch shook his head.

"I'll play," Elle offered, "make it four. Between the three of us, we should be able to beat Reid."

Stakes were agreed upon, and Anna produced M&M's, "For the chips," she told the others, "since nobody else offered anything."

The first hand went to Reid easily, although Morgan could have paid more attention, he'd been watching Anna. Anna talked like she didn't know the game well, and she handled her cards in the same fashion.

Her green eyes, however, missed nothing as she watched Reid's hands. Even as she proclaimed, again, her innocence, Morgan saw the way she kept her cards on the table the way a professional player would. Every time someone made a bet, Anna's eyes darted to them, taking in their expressions. Every time cards were exchanged, she deflected attention, but she watched.

Three hands in; Anna tilted her head at Reid and smiled, "So, Vegas-boy."

"Yes," Reid replied nervously.

"Let's play something real," Anna said, "Five card stud, no wild."

"What are the stakes?" Reid asked.

"Well, if I win, you have to go on a Hunt with me, no questions asked." Anna said.

"If I win," Reid replied, "you have to loan me your advance copy of David Rossi's next book."

"There's also the forfeit," Anna said, "in this case, we will define a forfeit as any action taken to ensure winning or losing that is against the standard poker laws or folding more than twice in a three out of five round."

"Agreed," Reid said.

"Forfeit," Anna said, "I suggest that the person in question must do reports for the other person for a week."

"Oh harsh," Reid said, a quiet smile on his face, "I agree."

Anna smirked, "Derek, will you deal for us?"

"Sure," Derek said and began to shuffle.


	3. New Information

When Derek, Hotch and Elle arrived at the police station, Derek hesitated before shutting the door to the SUV, "Think Anna's still mad?" Elle asked, giving him a knowing smile.

"I wouldn't be surprised," Derek replied, "given the way she was glaring at Hotch."

Their arrival at Honolulu International had been marked by the appearance of yet another body, and Hotch's unilateral decision that Anna would not be going to the crime scene. Anna had asked why, and Hotch told her it was because of her injuries. Anna had clearly swallowed back a number of statements that would have gotten her a reprimand at the least before following Reid, Gideon and J.J. to the police station. "She's going to be mad at Hotch," Elle said, "not you."

"No," Derek said, "she's just going to want to know every detail I can remember."

Elle laughed as they entered the station and Derek looked around for Anna. He found her standing by the desk of a young detective who looked pale. Anna was giving her a mug of coffee. When Anna looked up, she tilted her head to Derek, and then jerked it in an invitation to come over. Derek did, wondering why Anna wanted him. "Morgan," she said, "This is Detective Chan. Ami, this is Agent Derek Morgan." Derek glanced at her desk, noting a newspaper clipping and some files as well as a name plate that had been knocked over.

The woman nodded to him as Derek glanced between them, "It's nice to meet you," Derek said. "Anna, did you need something?"

"Ami," Anna said, gently, "would you tell Agent Morgan what you told me?"

"Ok," Ami said, she took a breath, "I know the people who were murdered."

"Ok," Derek said.

"I've been working undercover helping the HPD and North Shore with a drug ring," Ami continued, "and I haven't really looked at the papers. When I saw the photos your team put up, I recognized them because I knew them in college. They're Alliance members."

"Alliance?" Derek looked between the two women in confusion.

"GLSBTA Alliance," Ami said.

"Gay-Lesbian-Straight-Bisexual-Transsexual-Asexual Alliance," Anna added.

"Right," Ami said, "we usually just called it the Alliance." She sipped her coffee for a moment, "The thing is," Ami continued, "all of them identified as asexual."

"I didn't tell her that," Anna said, looking up at Morgan, "she told me."

"That's not the only thing," Ami added, she handed him a newspaper clipping; "This is from the Big Island. She went to school here in Honolulu, and was part of the Alliance. She also identified as asexual."

Morgan looked at the picture of a pretty young woman. According to the paper, she had been found on a trail in Volcano Natural Park, strangled. She had been found by hikers within hours of her death. According to the park, she had arrived alone in her jeep but had made a comment about meeting 'a friend' who had not been identified. "Derek," Anna said, "I don't know how to play this."

He looked at Anna, and then Ami, "I'll talk to Hotch," he said. "You two wait here."

Derek hurried over to the conference room that had been made available to them, "What's going on?" Hotch asked, looking up from his conversation with the lead Detective on the strangler case.

"Detective Conners," Derek said, "what can you tell me about Detective Ami Chan?"

"Good detective," Conners said, "good mind. Newly promoted, but I understand she was invaluable in a recent case."

"All right," Derek said, "Hotch, she knows the victims, _all_ of them." He glanced over his shoulder to where Anna was telling Ami something. "I think she thinks there may have been a related case." He handed over the newspaper article.

Conners leaned over and nodded, "I remember this; Ami was really upset because the girl was a friend of hers."

Hotch looked at the clipping, and then at Derek and Conners, "I want to speak to Detective Chan," he said.

While Hotch spoke to Ami, Derek and Anna joined the rest of the team, "Have we anything else to connect the victims?" Jason asked as Elle finished putting up the information on the newest victim, a man named Keoni Darwin.

"They all went to the University of Hawaii in Honolulu," Garcia announced over speaker phone, "and they were all active members of the GLSBTA Alliance."

"What's that?" Reid said.

"Gay-Lesbian-Straight-Bisexual-Transsexual-Asexual Alliance," Anna said, sitting down, "They call it the Alliance, according to one of the detectives, Ami Chan." She started to twist her chair, "Ami is straight, but she joined the alliance to support her brother Kai and her best friend, Carrie. Kai is gay, Carrie identified herself as asexual."

"Hotch is currently talking to Detective Chan," Derek added, "given that she knows all of our victims."

"It's starting to look like I was right," Anna said, "asexuality as a trigger for a killer." She stared pensively at the white board.

"But how would they know," Elle said, "how could the killer be sure."

"He's probably associated with the Alliance," Anna replied, "either as a member or a friend of a member. The Alliance is meant to be a 'safe zone', a place for people to go where they can just be themselves. At the least, it's a place for people to be unafraid of being degraded or derided by the society around them. For some people, it's the only place where they can tell the truth about themselves."

"Where you in an Alliance?" J.J. asked.

Anna smiled at her, "I never felt like I could. Being a Marine, I was subject to DADT, any hint that I might be less than straight and I would have been gone. My first year after the discharge, I needed my medical insurance too much to risk losing it that way. My second year, I'd decided that I really wanted to go into the Bureau and overloaded my courses so that I could have both degrees ahead of schedule and didn't have the time. I had friends who were in the Alliance; they used to joke about me being a closeted Alliance member."

"Garcia," Hotch said as he stepped into the room followed by Ami Chan, "I want you to see what information you can get on the local Alliance. Once you've got a member list, Morgan, you will take Campbell and Chan with you to start talking to people. Find out what you can about each of the victims." He added the newspaper clipping of Carrie Jones to the board, "After Garcia gets the Alliance information I want everything that can be found on Carrie Jones. Gideon, Elle, you'll be headed over to the Big Island to talk to the park rangers and the police about her."

"On it," Derek said as Anna stood up.

"There's a meeting right now," Ami added as she checked her watch, "With the campus about to close for Christmas, they're having a final meeting before the holiday party tonight."

"Let's get over there while everyone's still sober," Anna said.


	4. Alliance and Allies

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Charlie Highband and the mentioned 'summer' are as taken from The Highband Investigations by ME, and can be found detailed in A Killer Best Friend and it's sequels, coming soon to Amazon.com

_Aaron Hotchner is going to pay,_ Morgan thought as he stepped away from another Alliance member. For some reason, Anna and Ami had managed to land the ones who looked, and acted normal. Morgan, on the other hand, had been asked out once and hit on twice since they'd begun asking questions. "You know they're only doing it because you're so uncomfortable."

Morgan turned in surprise, "Excuse me?" He asked, idly studying the young man who'd approached him. Mid twenties, six feet tall, well built, but not muscular, dark brown hair, blue eyes, white.

"I'm Charlie," he said with a slight grin, "Charlie Highband."

"Agent Derek Morgan," Morgan replied and shook the man's hand.

Charlie chuckled, "I figured as much." He glanced around, "I shouldn't tell you this, but those guys are just messing with you. You're so clearly uncomfortable that they're being jerks."

"Right," Morgan nodded. "Did you know the victims?"

"No," Charlie replied, "I'm from Texas, I go to school at Texas A&M, my roommate invited me here for Christmas and his friend invited us both to the meeting." He pulled out his wallet, "I have my Aggie ID if that would help."

"Please," Morgan said. He looked at the ID and nodded, "Thank you."

Charlie grinned, "No problem, Agent Morgan. I just wanted to establish my credentials early, I mean, after what happened in August." He trailed off and blushed.

"Oh?" Morgan asked.

Charlie shrugged, "Someone tried to go after my family. You might know of my sister Beatrice Highband-Cross, she's a Senator. Her, my brother Dom, the family just had a bad summer."

"Charlie," a slender Asian half slammed into the young man, "you ok?" He half hung on Charlie with a bright smile.

"Fine," Charlie said with a slight eye roll, "I'm just fine." He paused, "Agent Morgan, this is Tony Wells, my friend and host."

"Sir," Tony said, releasing Charlie and shaking Morgan's hand. "It's just horrible, what's been going on. I mean, I thought things in BCS were bad."

"BCS?" Morgan repeated, amused.

"Bryan-College Station," the boys chanted in unison.

Charlie shrugged, "I've never heard a local say that, but it's such a mouthful." He waved his hand in a negligent manner.

"You're one to talk," Tony said and poked Charlie in the side. "My friend here," he added, leaning over as if to confide some secret to Morgan, "Is from Widdershins, Texas, on the island of Widdendreams."

"Yup," Charlie said with a laugh, "The Island of Strange Feelings and the town called Backwards." He grinned crookedly, "So you're FBI. Interesting."

"How so," Morgan asked.

Charlie shrugged, "I'm toying with the idea of apply myself," he grinned at Morgan, "Strictly as a computer tech, mind you. My brother's the hero in the family." He glanced at his watch, "It's getting late back home. If you will both excuse me, I should call my mother before she gets worried." He gave them an odd little bow and wandered off.

"There goes an odd man," Tony observed, he grinned at Morgan, "Charlie's straight, but no one really holds that against him. He says he prefers a gay roommate and wingman because it's easier to pick up girls."

"Speaking of," Morgan said, "Did you know any of the victims?"

"The Aces?" Tony said, he shook his head, "No, they had all graduated before I got involved. Some of the older guys might know them." He nodded his head, "Gina would probably know them best, since she handles coordination with some of the activist groups."

"Is she here?" Morgan asked.

Tony shook his head regretfully, "After Nia Porter was killed, Gina went off radar. She has friends in Kona, so she took a leave and headed over there for a while. Seeing as she also identified as asexual, she was afraid she'd be targeted."

"Do you think she would be?" Morgan asked.

"Besides the victims, Gina is probably the one everyone knows. She's done everything short of getting her forehead tattooed to help people understand. She's an aromantic asexual, and is somewhat notorious for speaking her mind," Tony said. "She wasn't head of the Alliance when she was a student, but that was her choice. She wants a bigger stage than just campus, most assume she just wants to lobby the state for things, but I can't help but wonder if she's looking east."

"You think she'll go into politics?" Morgan said, feeling a little amused at the young man's candor.

"Nope," Tony replied, "Gina knows that except for people like us, she won't have the votes. She's a lobbyist and an activist; she'll go there to make people listen."

"And you honestly think she could become a target," Morgan replied.

"She's high profile," Tony said, "people talk. If she were to turn up dead, everyone will know about it and they'll talk about it loud and long."

Morgan saw Anna and Ami stepping away from another group; Anna tilted her head towards the door. "Can you get me in touch with people who might be able to tell me more?" Morgan asked.

"You'll be down at the station, right?" Tony asked, "I'll get the list to Ami. Of course, some of them she knows better than I do."

"Anything you can tell us will help," Morgan replied, "thank you."

"Not a problem," Tony replied. "Agent Morgan," he said before Morgan could step away, "Charlie, he's a good person. He didn't deserve what happened to him, no more than the rest of his family. I don't know what the reports say about what happened in August, but if you want the full story, you should call his brother Dominic. Dom's the one who figured out the whole thing."

"I'll do that," Morgan said with a sharp nodded. "I'll do just that."

"Thanks," Tony replied.

Morgan joined the women outside, "Well," Ami said, "that was moderately depressing. Did you learn anything, Agent Morgan?"

"Derek," Morgan corrected her, "and I might have a lead. I'll pass it on to Hotch."

"Good," Anna said, "because those girls take passive aggressive to a whole new level."

"You're just mad because of Sam," Ami said with a laugh, "I told you we had a few originals." At Morgan's curious look, Ami explained, "Sam likes to call himself 'gender fucked', if you'll excuse the profanity. He was born a boy, raised a girl who thought she was a female to male transgender, learned that she was born a boy, had a sexual reassignment surgery, realized he liked being feminine and has a fondness for playing the drag queen. His goal in life is to live someplace like Key West, where he can be one among many."

"Is Sam a boy or a girl?" Anna asked, "Because having heard it explained twice, I still can't figure it out."

"Does it matter?" Ami countered, "Sam is happy."

"Good," Anna replied, "but I'm not sharing this one with Dean. He gives Sam a hard time as it is, if he got his hands on this kind of material, it would make the 'Witch Incident' when we were teenagers seem like the Sasquatch jokes."

"Witch Incident?" Morgan asked, knowing he was going to regret it.

Anna shrugged as they all slid into the car, "We had a run in with a witch when I was seventeen. Sam was turned into a girl for a week while Dad and Uncle Bobby went looking for the counter curse. It's one of the defining moments of my adolescence outside of meeting Uncle Dave."

"Who?" Morgan asked, deciding to ignore Anna's story, because she was trying to get a rise out of him. She did that every once in a while, with stories of the fantastic.

"David Rossi," Anna said, "he's my Godmother's brother. I call him Uncle Dave to piss him off."

For some reason, Morgan couldn't deny that it was very like Anna to do something like that.


	5. Pie

Derek groaned as an insistent knock on his door roused him out of a sound sleep. He got up when it became clear that his visitor wasn't going to go away and stumbled over to the door. Once his eyes had adjusted to the hallway's lights, he found Anna standing there, dressed in jeans and a USMC t-shirt, her white hair defying gravity as if she'd just rolled out of bed. "Anna?" Derek said.

"I need pie;" Anna said shifting her stance slightly, her face was calm, but there was an odd light in her green eyes that Derek couldn't identify. "Agent Hotchner, he said I have to tell someone before I go out. I don't, quite, know where I'll end up, but I have my phone and my laptop, both of which are fully charged."

"Ok," Derek said, trying to wrap his mind around what Anna wanted.

Anna bit her lip, "I know you're tired, but," she glanced down, looking vulnerable, "I just didn't want to go alone." She looked up at him a minute and Derek realized that Anna was afraid.

"Let me get some clothes on," Derek told her and shut the door. He flipped the switch by the door and blinked in against the light. Quickly, he dressed and sent a text to Hotch, telling him that he and Anna were going out.

When he stepped back out into the hallway, Anna had a backpack over her shoulder and she was toying with her own phone. "Thank you," she said with a smile, "I appreciate this."

"You owe me," Derek told her, "how are we going to find your pie?"

"I was going to ask at the front desk," Anna replied and headed for the elevator.

Derek checked his pockets a final time and followed her with a sigh. Still, he had to admit that the past week there had been little drama from Anna. She had kept to the background unless she had something specific to add, except for two days ago when she'd gotten a call from her brothers that had lasted almost two hours and been filled with a good deal of teasing. While Anna had gritted her teeth on the past two cases and taken to flying, her twin Dean apparently had no incentive. He'd had to take an emergency flight and from what Anna had repeated of Sam's story; Dean had not handled flying well at all; even before the copilot had gotten sick. The case had stalled to some extent. The girl killed at the park, Carrie, had been declared the first victim, but not much was coming up about her. While checking it out, Gideon and Elle had also met with Gina, the asexual activist, who hadn't been able to tell them much either beyond saying that there weren't that many other asexuals. Gina had also explained about the political rally in Honolulu for gay marriage and rights supporters that had drawn in more of the asexuals than usually were around.

"Morgan!" Anna said.

Derek blinked, "What?" He asked.

"The night desk clerk says there's a good place on the beach where we can have pie _and_ she's calling us a cab," Anna adjusted her backpack. "I thought we could maybe catch the sunrise on the beach."

"If Hotch doesn't kill us first," Derek replied dryly.

"If the food's good," Anna replied, "we'll just invite them out for breakfast."

"Ma'am," the clerk called tentatively, "your cab is here."

"Mahalo," Anna said, giving the woman a bright smile, "I appreciate it."

They slid into the cab and Anna leaned forward, "There's a diner down by the beach, _Marley's,_ " she told the driver, "that's where we're going." Derek settled himself into the cab, idly watching Anna as she finished with the driver and settled back. She glanced at him, "What?" She asked.

"I was just wondering why you asked me to join you," Derek said after a moment.

"Who else would get up at five in the morning for pie?" Anna asked in a light and teasing tone.

Derek had to admit, Anna was right, the others would never have gone with her. "What is your obsession with pie anyways?" Derek asked.

"It was the only desert both of my parents made well," Anna replied. "My mom was a good cook, I think. I remember we had good, homemade food a lot, but my dad can barely make a decent breakfast. Both of them, however, can make pies. I remember Mom making pie for us that day, it was cherry, I think. I was mad because I wanted apple. After she died, Dad would make pie for us instead of cakes. Holidays, birthdays, special occasions, we always had pie. It reminds me of home, and my family. It makes me happy, I guess."

Derek nodded in understanding. "My mom is good at making bread; she has the best banana bread recipe ever."

"Banana bread," Anna replied in a derogatory manner, "if you say so."

"Next case in Chicago," Derek said, "and I'll get her to make you a loaf."

The taxi pulled into the parking lot of a small, but well lit diner. "We're here," the driver announced.

Anna took some money out of her pocket and passed it up front, "Keep the change," she told the man before sliding out. Derek followed suit, glancing around as he straightened up. The diner was on the water front, he could hear the waves around the sounds of traffic, and the wind had a strong salty tang to it. "Son of a," Anna muttered suddenly, hand coming up to her eye. "Do you mind getting us a booth?" She said, turning to Derek as the taxi left, "I need to go by the bathroom."

"Sure," Derek said.

The inside of Marley's proved to be subdued, clean and almost old fashioned. It was not unlike other diners that he'd eaten at over the years, and had the same atmosphere as every other diner Anna was drawn to, like a moth to the flame. Anna brushed past Derek and vanished into the restroom while Derek found himself confronted by a large woman in a light green dress, "Aloha Kakahiaka. How many are in your party, sir?" She asked.

"Two for right now," Derek replied, "my partner just went to the restroom."

"Would you like a table or booth?"

"Booth," Derek replied, "I think Anna wanted to be near a plug for her laptop as well, if it's possible."

"Not a problem," the woman said with a smile. She led him to the back of the restaurant, where there was a beautiful view of the beach and the water. "We offer a good view of the sunrise, sir."

"Thank you," Derek replied, "Can I get a cup of coffee, please, and a menu?"

"Of course," the woman said, "what about your partner?"

"I'm not sure what she'll want," Derek admitted.

"Coffee," Anna said, appearing behind the woman, "excuse me," she added, "I didn't mean to startle you." She slid around the waitress and sat down across from Derek. "I'd also like some pie, if you have any."

"We have some from yesterday," the waitress said hesitantly.

"As long as it's not growing anything, I'm pretty easy about pie," Anna replied firmly, "what flavors do you have?"

"I'll have to check," the waitress said as she put menus on the table, "I'll go get your coffees and find out."

"Thank you," Anna said and Derek nodded.

As the woman hurried away, Derek looked over at Anna and frowned, "I didn't know you wore glasses," he said.

Anna peered at him over her menu, "Normally I wear contacts," she said, pushing the slender, silver wire frame up her nose. "But the wind around here screws them up pretty badly sometimes." She sighed, "These are two years old and my prescription's changed, so things are a little blurry at a distance."

"Then why wear them?" Derrick asked.

"Because my new ones weren't in when we left," Anna replied as she opened the menu, "I had an eye exam earlier this month. My contacts were easy to get, but my glasses had to wait."

"They look good on you," Derek admitted after a moment.

"Thanks," Anna replied with a grin.

"Well," the waitress said, reappearing, "we have pineapple pie, apple pie and cherry pie, but the cook says if you wait another half hour, there will be a berry cobbler and key lime pie ready to go."

"I'll take the cherry, please," Anna said as the waitress filled her coffee cup. "With whip cream if I could."

"Not a problem," the waitress replied, "and for you, sir?"

"I'm not ready yet," Derek said, "I'm going to need a few moments."

"Of course," the waitress said with a smile. "I'll just get your pie."

Derek opened the menu and began to peruse the breakfast offerings. "Are you going to eat now?" Anna asked.

"I might," Derek replied.

"I thought we were going to invite the team over when they get up," Anna offered.

"That won't be for a while," Derek pointed out.

"I can wait," Anna replied as the waitress appeared with her pie, "Mahalo."

The waitress smiled, "'A'ole pilikia."

Derek ordered his breakfast as Anna took out her laptop and a notebook, then she took a bite of her pie. "This is good," she said happily, "I'm glad we came here."

"Ok," Derek said, "what are we doing here besides your pie obsession?"

"Dean asked me to do some research for him," Anna replied, "and Hotch has banned my wifi access at the hotel. Something about abusing the privilege, which I don't get because I don't actually go online all that often; I think it's more that he doesn't want to justify the ten dollar a day fee."

"I'm sure Hotch has his reasons," Derek replied, "what are you looking up?"

"Bloody Mary and mirror lore," Anna replied with a grin, "and what would cause people to die from bleeding through their eyes."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hawaiian tranlations as per a list I located on the web:
> 
> Aloha Kakahiaka- good morning
> 
> Mahalo- thank you
> 
> 'A'ole pilikia- you're welcome
> 
> I'm not referencing any CM episodes, although it is safe to assume that the first season episodes are occuring around the Anna cases. I'm also trying not to make Anna a huge part of this investigation because she is a rookie. Supernatural episodes referenced here are 'Phantom Traveler' (because you know Sam and Anna totally ragged on Dean about his freaking out during the flight) and "Bloody Mary". I know that Supernatural rarely actually had winter episodes, so I'm tweaking seasons for these two episodes to fit in with the Christmas/Midwinter time period. (Remember in the first chapter, they referenced December and winter gear). Certain events of OOB are going to change the cannon of 'Skin', because I have Anna and her friends the profilers to apply a different sort of logic to the case.


	6. Unsub

Derek had never seen someone enjoy pie the way Anna did. She ate it with relish, but without excess noise or exaggerated movements. It was just another facet of Anna's complicated personality. She was a beautiful woman in any man's book, but she was quick to shut a guy down who thought to get too close. Finished with her pie, Anna glanced at her watch, "Just in time for sunrise."

"What?" Derek asked.

Anna grinned at him, "I'm going to go down on the beach for the sunrise."

"We aren't facing east," Derek pointed out.

"I'll improvise," Anna replied with a cheeky grin. She packed up her laptop, "You can call Hotch and the others." She started for the back door of the diner, which let out onto a large patio and the beach beyond. "Oh and Derek," she added, turning around, "Happy Midwinter." Then she turned back around and vanished outside.

Derek frowned after her for a moment then turned to look for the waitress, "Can I help you?" The woman asked when he signaled her.

"I'm going to step out on the patio," Derek said, "my partner will be on the beach. Can you get our tab together?"

"Yes," the woman said with a smile. "I'll bring it out to you, eh?"

"Mahalo," Derek replied, trying not to look as self conscious as he felt. He turned and followed Anna outside. The younger agent had actually pulled her shoes off and left them on one of the patio chairs with her backpack as she walked across the sands. Derek leaned on the waist high fence that separated the patio from the beach and watched as Anna danced on the sand in the grey light of dawn.

Derek's phone vibrated and he pulled it out, Hotch was calling, "Aloha, Hotch," he said.

"Where are you?" Hotch asked.

"At a diner on the beach with Anna," Derek replied. "She wanted pie and company. We were going to call everyone after the sun rose."

Anna drifted further up the beach, where a jetty created a high wall. Suddenly she went still, "Derek," Hotch began.

"Hold on," Derek replied.

Anna spun, "Derek get your ass over here," she yelled, then turned and broke into a run.

"Shit," Derek growled and sprinted off across the beach after her.

"What's going on?" Hotch demanded in his ear.

"I don't know yet," Derek snapped, and lowered the phone. A white form lay at the base of the jetty, but Anna was already past it, chasing a dark figure Derek couldn't make out. Instead, Derek focused on what he realized was a woman as he approached her.

There was a card, an ace of hearts, on her forehead and a belt around her neck, "Morgan," Hotch snapped.

"Get down here," Derek replied, "Kalakawa Avenue just down from a diner called Marley's. I think our unsub just struck again." He hung up the phone and reached to check for a pulse.

…

Anna growled a curse under her breath as she raced down the pavement after the unsub. She had to be barefoot on the beach today of all days. Of course the thrice cursed unsub would choose today, of all days, to attack again. She swerved around a pair of pedestrians, "Sorry," she called over her shoulder. She'd been enjoying a moment of reflection when she'd spotted them. The unsub had almost looked as if he was kissing his victim they'd been so close. Then she'd spotted the flash of white when he slapped his hand on the victim's forehead before shoving the body away from him.

Growling, Anna pushed herself harder, she wanted to catch this bastard.

A car horn blared and Anna barely had a moment to register that she'd hit an intersection before something hit her. It connected from her mid-thigh to her shoulder and swept her off her feet. She felt her shoulder dislocate as the vehicle finally skidded to a halt. Her own momentum, added by the car, sent her soaring into the air. She caught herself with her newly designated good hand, rolling onto the ground. Unfortunately, she was unable to stop her momentum with a roll and crashed onto her dislocated shoulder.

Pain stole her breath, cutting her yell into a whimper. The pain surged upward like a rising tide, unstoppable, indefatigable and relentless. As she struggled with the pain, Anna thought, _Damn, I guess I won't be catching him today. Dean's going to be pissed._

…

The newest victim of the unsub was sent off in an ambulance, busy hands still working on her. Derek leaned against the jetty trying to minimize the pain in his chest. "Morgan," Hotch said, moving through the early morning crowd, "what happened?"

"Anna," Derek said, "spotted something up the beach."

"Where is she?" Hotch asked, looking around.

"She was chasing someone," Derek replied, "probably whoever attacked our victim. They went that way," he pointed across the street.

Hotch turned, "Elle, go see if you can spot her."

"Right," Elle said and headed off.

"Hotch," Derek said, "I was less than twenty feet away and Anna was closer. We have to catch this guy."

"What were you doing here?" Gideon asked from behind Hotch.

"Anna asked me to go out with her," Derek replied, "she looked scared so I said yes. We were recommended this place by the night clerk and took a cab over; she claimed she just wanted pie. Then Anna decided she wanted to be on the beach for the sunrise. She was, dancing, when she spotted them."

"It's Midwinter," Reid offered, "its Anna's Christmas."

They exchanged glances at this new information and Hotch's phone rang. "Agent Hotchner," he said quietly, he listened for a long moment, "Where are you?" He nodded slightly, "Stay with her, Elle. We'll swing by the station and meet you there."

"What happened?" J.J. asked as Hotch hung up.

"Anna was hit by a car," Hotch said, regarding his phone for a moment. "Elle's riding to the hospital with her."

The agents exchanged looks and Derek coughed, "Let me go settle the check at Marley's and I'll be ready to go."


	7. The Hospital

By the time Derek and Hotch arrived at the hospital, Anna had been whisked off to be examined by the doctors. Elle, on the other hand, was waiting for them in the ER waiting room. "Thank God," she announced when she saw them, "I was afraid you'd leave me here."

"Why?" Hotch asked.

Elle sighed, "They gave her morphine and strapped her into a brace in case of spinal injuries." She smiled tightly, "Apparently, morphine makes Anna talk fast and loud, with the sort of language that would make a sailor blush. Half of it wasn't even English, by the way." She glanced over her shoulder, "It also makes her believe that she's invincible. When she wasn't cussing all of us, she was trying to convince us to help her with her dislocated shoulder. At one point, she tried to climb off the stretcher and out of the ambulance, despite the fact that we were still moving."

"Sounds like quite the trip," Derek said.

"How badly is she injured?" Hotch asked.

"The doctor hasn't come back out yet," Elle said.

"Actually," a man said, catching their attention, "I'm Doctor Miller, Anna's attending physician."

"Supervisory Special Agent Aaron Hotchner," Hotch replied as he held up his ID, "how is my agent?"

"Loud, rude and rather entertaining," Dr. Miller replied dryly, he glanced down at a clip board he was carrying, "Actually, with the exception of her shoulder, Agent Campbell came out of the accident better than expected. She dislocated her shoulder, bruised her ribs and had some abrasions on her feet from running barefoot, but those are the only notable damages. She even managed to avoid damaging her spine or her head. She'll be sore for a while and bruised from head to toe." He sighed; his blue eyes were tired although he stood strong. "There were some interesting aspects of her exam."

"Campbell's ex military," Hotchner said promptly, "medically discharged."

"I surmised from the shrapnel in her back," Miller said, he pushed some of his brown hair out of his face, "I was actually referring to some of her scars. If I were a man of imagination, I'd say she got mauled by a bear."

"Her dad liked to hunt," Derek offered, "maybe it happened."

"Indeed," Miller said, "as I was going to say, we're admitting her for the night for observation. Provided something doesn't show up overnight, I'll be happy to release her tomorrow."

"May we see her?" Hotchner asked.

"Of course," Miller said, "she's being settled upstairs right now." He gave them directions and Hotchner led the other two to the elevator.

"Barefoot?" Hotch asked quietly as they crowded onto the elevator.

"She took her shoes off to play in the sand," Derek replied, he hefted Anna's backpack, "they're in here."

"Someone's going to have to take her statement," Hotch noted as the door opened and they filed out the door.

"If you stick that in me, by the Morrigan, I will stick it up your ass," Anna shouted suddenly.

They exchanged glances and sped up, Hotch and Derek flashing their badges at the nurses' station with a breathless "Where?"

The scene in Anna's room was comical, Derek thought, as he took in the scene. Anna was on the bed, in a hospital gown and a sling, her 'uninjured' arm gripping a nurse's wrist tightly. The nurse, a man with bright red hair, stared down at her, his blue eyes emotionless, for a long moment, and then he sighed, "Fine. Be in pain."

"Anna," Hotch said.

Anna looked at them, eyes darting from agent to agent as they filed into the room. "I am not staying," she said. "As soon as I can walk without getting dizzy from the morphine I'll be able to get back to work."

"No," Hotch replied firmly. "You're going to stay here, under observation, and give your statement."

"I am not staying here," Anna said, she glared at the nurse, "Carrot top, you aren't got to jab me."

The nurse nodded, "Fine, I won't give you more morphine right this second. Would you let go of my wrist, though? It's been bruised enough."

Anna let go and Derek stared at the man's rope burned wrist, "What happened?" Anna said, also looking at the burn.

The nurse flushed and dropped his arm, "I lost the bet."

"And you got rope burns," Anna said disapprovingly.

"My friends have interesting pets," the nurse said defensively, "exercising them is challenging on the scale of playing World of Warcraft from beginning to end straight through while blindfolded. This is a badge of honor." He brandished his wrist. "Now, I need to inform your doctor about your morphine refusal, if you don't mind."

"What's your name?" Hotch asked as the nurse started for the door.

The nurse paused, "My _name_ is Charlie Thorne, but most everybody calls me Chip." As he walked away, Morgan heard him mutter, "That's the last time they're going to get me to cover something outside pediatrics."

"Aw," Anna said, "why did you have to take the fun out of it? I'm bored, oh and hungry. I never got more pie; do you think they serve pie here? I'll go with bad pie right now."

"Anna," Hotch said as they organized themselves around the room. Derek claimed one of the uncomfortable chairs, close enough to help restrain Anna; far enough back she couldn't hit him.

"What?" Anna asked.

"You're going to stay at the hospital until the doctor releases you," Hotch said, "There will be a police officer by later to take your statement."

"I could just go to the station," Anna offered.

"No," Hotch said firmly. "I'm sure I can trust you to stay as I've asked you to."

Anna said nothing, only watched Hotch for a long moment. "Anna," Derek said, "did you get a good look at him?"

"No," Anna said, "My glasses were dirty, I think. I do know he had blond hair and pale skin so he's not Hawaiian. Is he our guy?"

"We don't know yet," Hotch said. "Now, I'm going to trust you to stay here, Anna. If you show up at the police station, I will have them assign someone to sit on you for the rest of the case."

"Do you mean that literally?" Anna asked, "Because there's really cute cop in Metro that I would not at all be against having in my lap."

"Stay here," Hotch said, "and someone will keep you updated on the case."

"Ok," Anna replied, "bye! Give me love to the team. Tell Dean the Fat Lady sang this morning when he calls, ok?"

"I will," Derek told her as he stood up. "You just focus on getting better."

"I am the best me I can possibly be," Anna assured him as he followed Hotch and Elle out the door.

"I'm not going to do it." Derek turned and found Chip, the red haired nurse, talking to Doctor Miller. "Fire me if you want, but I'm not going to give her morphine if she doesn't want it."

"Why not?" Miller asked.

"Annie and I served together our first tour in Iraq," Chip replied, "one of the guys in our unit almost got drummed out of the Marines because he was hooked on painkillers. I was part of the group that did an intervention for him. You don't forget things like that."

The chime of the elevator dragged Morgan's attention away and he hurried to join his friends, thinking over what Chip had said.


	8. Good Morning

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: I would like to think the NaNoWriMo adoptable forums for this opening line. It truly inspired me.

SOMEBODY BRING ME BREAKFAST. BAGEL, CREAM CHEESE, COFFEE. DO NOT PUT COFFEE ON BAGEL.

Derek stared at the message on his phone, exhausted mind refusing to process the message that had awoken him. As the message, and it's sender, settled into his brain, Derek reminded himself that Hotch wouldn't appreciate him killing Anna. Then he wondered who in their right mind would give Anna her cell phone back.

His alarm sounded and Derek absently shut it off before getting up. He clearly wasn't going to get anymore sleep tonight. When he stepped out into the hall, Hotch was standing just outside his door too, staring at his cell phone. "Did you get that text from Anna too?" Derek felt compelled to ask.

"What text?" Hotch asked.

"She's demanding breakfast, bagel, cream cheese and coffee." Derek paused, "She also added 'do not put coffee on bagel'. I feel like I should, just for the sake of it."

"If you must," Hotch said with a tired sigh.

"What's wrong?" Derek asked.

"I don't think wrong would be the word I would choose," Hotch said after a moment. He looked down at his phone.

"Then what's going on?" Derek asked.

"Hailey's coming out here," Hotch replied quietly. He looked up at Derek, "Someone is paying to fly her out first class and she's got a room in the hotel. It showed up by messenger with a 'Merry Christmas' card."

"That was nice of them," Derek said, "do you know who it was?"

"No," Hotch said, "but Strauss just called and said that if I wanted to stay here after the case for the rest of the holidays I'd have to fly back commercial."

"Huh," Derek said. Suddenly, having Anna demand breakfast didn't seem as odd.

The other agents began filing out of their rooms and Hotch put his phone in his pocket, "All right," Hotch said, "let's get something to eat and get down to the station. We might have had a major breakthrough yesterday."

"What about Anna?" Elle asked.

Hotch sighed, "Someone will go by at ten to see her released. Until then, get your minds in the game, we need to catch this guy."

They headed down to breakfast, and Derek began to think about the case, and the link between the victims. He also thought about what would have drawn the unsub to pick them. Something about the first victim bothered him. "Hey Reid," he said as they finished of breakfast.

"Yes Morgan?" Reid asked.

"The first victim, who found her body?" Derek asked, "Something about that is bugging me."

Reid thought for a moment, "Keoni Darwin, a Park Ranger."

"Right," Derek said.

"Did you say Keoni Darwin," Gideon said, turning to look at the two of them.

"Yes sir," Reid replied.

"What?" Hotch asked.

"Gina is staying with Keoni Darwin in Kona on the Big Island." Gideon said. "Interesting man, rather anti-social though.

Derek's phone vibrated and he pulled it out.

IF I CAN'T GET THE BAGEL COULD YOU AT LEAST BRING PIE? THEY ONLY SERVE JELL-O.

Derek coughed to hide his grin and stuck his phone back in his pocket. "What was that about?" Reid asked.

Derek blinked, "It's Anna," he said. "Someone gave her back her cell phone and she's been texting me about breakfast."

"What about breakfast?" Elle asked.

Derek shrugged and sipped his coffee, "I'll show you later. Mostly she just wants pie."

"Of course she wants pie," Elle said, "it's Anna."

"I wonder why she's obsessed with pie," Reid mused.

"It's probably a source of comfort," Gideon said, "something related to her childhood."

Derek thought about Anna's story, told while she was wrapped in the shadows of night as if sharing a precious treasure. He didn't say anything though, because it was Anna's story to share and he thought she should be the one to share it. "No profiling the team," Hotch said suddenly, "we have enough to do today."

They headed into the station and set to work reviewing everything about the case. Derek lost himself in the patterns of a case, reading files and staring at pictures, trying to imagine what could have inspired a man to kill. "It's ten thirty," Reid said suddenly, cutting through Derek's concentration. "Who's going to go get Anna?"

"I will," Derek said, standing, "I could use a change of scenery."

"Drive safe," Hotch said as Gideon offered him keys to the SUV.

"I will," Derek replied, "and thanks."

The drive to the hospital wasn't horrible, although Derek did have to sit through some traffic. He parked in the visitor lot and headed in through the front door. He headed for the receptionist's desk for directions feeling relaxed. "Excuse me," he told the woman behind the desk.

"Can I help you sir?" The woman replied.

Derek held up his badge, "I'm SSA Derek Morgan, yesterday, Agent Anna Campbell was checked in for overnight observation. I was here to see about picking her up."

"Of course," the woman said and began to type at her computer. After a moment she frowned, "I'm sorry, but Anna Campbell has already checked out this morning."

"What?" Derek said, "that's not possible, she was supposed to stay here."

"It was about half an hour ago," the woman said with a slight smile. "One of the nurses, Charlie Thorne, came by to pick her up."

Derek nodded, "Thank you, ma'am," he said and stepped back. "Have a nice day."

"Mahalo," the woman replied, turning to answer her phone.

Derek strode out of the hospital and called Anna.

Her ring back tone had changed, he noted absently, although he didn't recognize the song. Something country? Something about coming back from a war anyways. "Hello, Anna's phone?" Anna answered finally.

"Anna, where the hell are you?" Derek asked, lowering his voice at the last minute.

"Derek?" Anna replied, "I uh, had a friend come get me. I thought since I'm not on the case anymore I could do something."

"You couldn't have checked in first," Derek said.

"I'm sorry," Anna said, "I didn't think about it. Where are you?"

"At the hospital," Derek muttered.

"Oh no," Anna said, and there was a hint of laughter in her voice. "Look, I'm going to be another half hour, forty five minutes and then we were going to come by the station. If you want to come get me, it would save Chip a drive."

"Where are you?" Derek asked.

"Pearl Harbor," Anna replied.

Derek blinked, startled. He hadn't even thought of the fact that they were on the same Island. Then he thought of Anna and Chip, both of whom he knew had been military. "Ok," he said, "ok. I have to tell Hotch, Anna, but I'll drive over there."

"I'll have Chip give you directions," Anna offered.

"The SUV has GPS," Derek replied. "I'll see you soon." He hung up and headed for the SUV, pulling up Hotch's number as he did so.

"Agent Hotchner," Hotch said.

"Hotch, it's Morgan," Derek said and unlocked the SUV.

"Is everything ok?" Hotch asked.

"That depends," Derek replied. "Apparently, Anna and the nurse we met yesterday, Charlie Thorne, served together in the military. Anna had Charlie pick her up this morning before I got here. I spoke with her just now and she says that since she was off the case, she thought she could do one thing she wanted to."

"What was that?" Hotch asked after a moment.

"Charlie and Anna went to Pearl Harbor," Derek replied. "Anna asked if I would come get her to save Charlie a trip."

"Get her," Hotch said, "bring her to the station."

"Yes sir," Derek said as he climbed into the SUV. "I'll be back soon."


	9. Pearl Harbor Interlude

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This wouldn't be a Huntress fic without an Anna point of view right? If you've been to Pearl Harbor, I hope this matches with your memories, if you haven't, I hope it captures the atmosphere for you. If you can't understand Anna's reactions, PM me and I'll try to explain.

Anna hadn't known what to expect when she arrived at Pearl Harbor, hadn't really thought about it. But this place, it was what she wanted to see. The museum, the plaques in the neatly trimmed yard, the information she would have loved the time to wander through and see. But they had tickets and not a lot of time, so she reassured Derek that she was ok and joined Chip with the group heading to the Arizona Memorial.

"Thank you," she told her friend.

"Not a problem," Chip replied, "I keep meaning to come out here, but I haven't yet."

Anna took a shaky breath as the crowd began to file into a theater. She tried to focus on the movie, but it was difficult. She couldn't keep her mind off the small white structure on the other side of the water, the symbol of such a great loss.

Finally, they left the theater and climbed onto a boat and Anna smiled warmly as Chip took her hand. "Excuse me," the woman said sitting next to them, "I couldn't help but notice," she gestured at their chests, "are you two military?"

"I was," Anna said, touching her dog tags. It hadn't seemed right not to wear them here. "I was wounded in Afghanistan and medically discharged."

Chip shrugged, "I'm finishing my college degree before I go for officer's training."

"Oh," the woman said and smiled, "Thank you for serving."

"Thank you for caring," Anna replied, looking up as the boat began to move.

It was a lifetime, it was minutes only, but they were there and Anna slid off the seat, her hand in Chip's so tight her knuckles were white.

The memorial was plain but elegant. She looked carefully at the first room, with the flags, and then stepped into the center part. Quickly she found her way to an opening where she could see the ship.

Staring down at the ship, however, Anna thought of the people who had died. Some of them had been killed instantly, but others, too many others, had been trapped. They had known. They had felt their death coming by inches.

The railing between her and the water was hot and when she brushed against it, the heat started to trigger a memory of fire and dust and heat and a panicked face.

Anna shook her head and moved on with the group, pausing to read the dedication plaque with a faint smile. Then she moved on to the open hole, but the water wasn't clear enough for a true look at the Arizona.

Finally, there was the wall. Anna stared at the names and wondered if there was a Winchester somewhere on that wall. She didn't think so. Almost reverently, she read the inscription, "TO THE MEMORY OF THE GALLANT MEN HERE ENTOMBED AND THEIR SHIPMATES WHO GAVE THEIR LIVES IN ACTION ON DECEMBER 7, 1941 ON THE U.S.S. ARIZONA."

The line moved on and Chip pulled her forward.

Something caught her eye and she looked down to find a marble bench, there had been one on the other side, but this one caught her eye. She couldn't make out the words but their meaning sunk in as she stared at the names. It was a memorial for survivors who had later chosen the Arizona as a final resting place.

Staring at those names, Anna's knees buckled and she couldn't stand. Her vision blurred, from either tears or contacts, and she shook, because she knew these men. Not them personally, but she understood. They had survived, were probably called heroes, while deep inside a voice whispered that they hadn't done enough, they were less than, they hadn't deserved to survive. These men had lain awake at night, thinking about how they could have saved their shipmates. These men had squirmed under the appellation of hero, because the real heroes had gone down with the ship.

She had come to the memorial to honor the memory of heroes; she hadn't expected a small shrine to the survivors. Taking a deep breath, Anna clamped down on her emotions enough to let Chip help her up. "Sorry," she whispered.

"It's ok," Chip said, and he got it. She could tell looking at him that he understood why those names and those words had affected her.

She looked back one last time. "I hope you found your peace," she whispered to the ghosts she couldn't see. Then she turned and followed Chip back out to the middle section. Caught in the crowd at another opening, Anna couldn't help but look out.

There were ghosts out there, she could see them. But they didn't seem angry. No one else said anything, so they didn't see the apparitions. It was a small group of men, dressed in World War II era uniforms and when she saw them they saluted her. Anna's breath hitched, and without thinking of anyone else, she saluted them back.


	10. Back to Work

Anna was shattered. Derek hadn't known what to expect when he arrived at the Arizona Memorial, but the look on Anna's face had stopped the words he'd been about to say. Between the devastated look on her face, bruises and sling, Anna looked like she'd been through a terrible experience. When she spotted Derek, Anna summoned up a smile that looked painful, and reached up to tuck something under her shirt. From the flash of metal, Derek realized that she'd been wearing dogtags. The red head standing next to her, the nurse from the hospital, looked worried as Derek walked up. "Hi Derek," Anna said.

"Anna," Derek began.

"Agent Morgan," the nurse said, "do you have a moment."

"Charlie, right," Derek said.

"It's Chip," the nurse said, catching his arm and drawing him away from Anna. "Look, I'm sorry. Anna wanted to come out here and since your boss has effectively taken her off the case she said it wouldn't be a problem."

"I wouldn't say Anna's off the case," Derek hedge, crossing his arms. He glanced over at Anna, who was looking back at the building. "Is she ok? What happened?"

Chip took a breath and rubbed the back of his neck, "I wasn't there when the squad was attacked. I finished my tour and I was getting out when I heard what happened. Anna says she's fine, but she looked me in the eyes and said it was just a scratch and I believed her until one of the other girls walked into the showers and found her stitching up a six inch wound in her side all on her own. I'm no shrink, but if Anna isn't dealing with PTS, she's certainly got survivor's guilt. There's a memorial out there where survivors of the attack on Pearl Harbor were interred with the ship when they died later on, that's what affected her."

"I'll keep that in mind," Derek said after a moment, "but right now, we have to go." He hesitated, "Are there any medical instructions we should be aware of or limitations?"

"No," Chip said. "Anna's got a trick shoulder, so mostly she's going to be sore. She should keep the sling on and take the pain pills, but," and here Chip clapped his shoulder and gave him a huge grin, "I wish you all the luck in the world for pulling that off." He walked over to Anna, exchanged a quick hug and then walked off.

"Interesting friend," Derek said as he walked over to Anna.

"Chip is a lesson on individuality and self determination," Anna replied. "He survived cancer twice before he was eighteen, his mom's dead and his dad dumped him on his aunt right before the remission. Chip's the one who taught me to be 'the best me that I have ever been'. He's settled down some since the military, but he's still Chip where it counts." She smiled at Derek, "Let's get going, I bet that Hotch wants to yell at me."

"If you'd stayed at the hospital until I came to get you," Derek began as they started out into the parking lot.

"I stayed all night," Anna said, "which is more than I wanted to do, remember?"

Derek really didn't have a response to that because it was true. Instead, he just led the way to the car and opened the door for her. "In you get," he said.

"Thank you," Anna said with a smile.

By the time Derek had reached his side of the car, however, Anna had pulled off her sling and was fussing with her hair in the mirror, making sure the short spikes hadn't been flattened. "You should be wearing that," Derek said, nodding at the sling in her lap.

"I'm fine," Anna said, "it doesn't bother me at all, those doctors just don't appreciate a soldier's pain threshold." She absently tugged her green button down straight and fastened her seatbelt. "Besides, Hotch is going to treat me like an invalid if he sees me wearing that and I am so totally not."

"If you say so," Derek muttered.

Anna filled the drive back to the police station with stories of the Marines, every story, every word even, pushing back the emotional wreck she'd been when Derek had first seen her. By the time they walked into the station, Anna was acting no different than she had been before the accident. "Hotch," she called as she walked in, "Aloha!"

"Agent Campbell," Hotch said as he stepped out of the conference room.

"Are you mad at me because I spent the morning not thinking about the case?" Anna asked, "Because I was under the impression that you didn't want me to work the case. Besides, we're in Hawaii, what's the point in being here if you don't take the time to see Pearl Harbor?"

Hotch ushered Anna into the conference room and Derek followed quietly, "Next time I tell you to stay at the hospital, you do that," Hotch said in a quiet, intense way.

"Is this because of the girl?" Anna asked, "Because she's still in ICU and unconscious. There are so many cops hanging around up there you'd think the governor was in the hospital. The unsub almost succeeded in crushing her windpipe before I shouted, and she's got a tube in her throat right now." Anna sat down at a chair at the table, "Oh and Chip is coming by later with a friend of his. He was dating Carrie before she died and from what Chip could tell me, he knows a few things that could blow this case wide open. That's part of why we went to Pearl Harbor, he works there with the park service. Unfortunately, he wasn't working today but since we were there, we opted to just see the memorial anyways."

"You went to Pearl Harbor to question a witness," Hotch said, clearly a little lost by Anna's words.

"Well, yeah," Anna said, like it was utterly obvious. "Luke will be here as soon as Chip tracks him down, but hopefully it'll be soon enough. Oh, and I heard about this awesome restaurant over in North Shore, called Haleiwa Joe's, but I doubt you'd let me do dinner with friends over there so I'll just have to wait until I can white knuckle a commercial flight back. Chip says they do some really awesome deserts, but I bet they don't do pie because he changed the subject when I asked. Did I mention I was hungry, because, you know, I'm starving. I'd rather eat cooked spinach than eat hospital food although they probably have the same taste and consistency, and they only serve Jell-O, not pie, which is ridiculous because pie makes everyone feel better."

"Anna," Hotch snapped.

The door to the conference room opened and Elle stepped in, "Hotch, there's a guy here named Luke Winter who says he was dating Carrie Jones before she died. He also said that his friend Chip Thorne said that Anna wanted him to come down and talk with us."

"Ok," Hotch said, "I am going to go talk to him. Elle, would you mind doing a lunch run for everybody?"

"Sure," Elle said, "I'm starving."

"Anna, stay here. We'll talk more later." Hotch added before he walked out the door.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: I don't know anything about PTSD or survivor's guilt beyond that they exist. I do not write this to imply any knowledge there of save only to imply that these are very severe medical conditions and should be treated as such.


	11. The Hunt Begins

Lucas Winter proved to be a young, Hispanic man who prowled the interview room like a cat. Derek watched him through the window as Hotch stepped inside to talk with him. Gideon, beside him gave the man a quick once over before heading into the conference room. Derek looked back as the man dropped into a chair, then followed Gideon.

Anna was sitting where Hotch had left her, pen in hand. "I take it I'm in trouble?" She asked.

"You know you are," Gideon replied, sitting across the table from her. "Anna, we talked about this. You can't do things without talking it over with us. I know you are a very talented investigator, you've proven that; you can take care of yourself, you've also proven that. The thing is, we work as a team. I know that when David Rossi was an agent, it wasn't like that, and if you had been an agent back then, you'd be just as top notch as Rossi was."

"I know how to work as a team," Anna replied, "Former military, remember? I don't know that I'd call this thing a team. It's like a dictatorship combined with a level of co-dependency that I find exceptionally uncomfortable."

"How do you define a team, then?" Gideon asked.

Derek settled quietly in another chair, wondering if they were even aware that he was there. "A team," Anna said, "is a group working to the same goal, who are able to use the individual strengths and weaknesses in combinations that provide the goal in the most efficient and effective way possible. You don't send your best researcher to meet a possible suspect and you don't send your best muscle to do research."

"Which are you?" Gideon asked, "The researcher or the muscle."

"I'm neither," Anna replied, "and I'm both, but I'm really good at the human factor. I do my best work just interacting with and talking to people. I follow the stories, I talk to the kids or the ones other people over look and I follow them back to the source. You'd be amazed what 'the last, the lost and the least' see, because everyone ignores them. This morning, Chip told me Carrie was dating Luke, his brother. Luke was out of town, in California, when Carrie was killed. Chip also told me that Luke had gotten angry over the newspaper articles, but hadn't explained why."

"Then why didn't you tell us?" Gideon said.

"I tried," Anna said, "I kept texting shit to Morgan to see when he was awake, because I didn't want to wake him or cause a problem if he was busy. I also waited until ten for someone to come get me. We didn't decide to go until nobody showed up or called. I only texted Morgan because he's the only one whose number I have in my new phone."

"That still doesn't excuse you," Gideon replied.

"What the hell was I supposed to do?" Anna replied, "For all I knew, Agent Hotchner was going to leave me in the damn hospital all day, nobody would contact me and the bastard had tried to pull his shit in front of me. Excuse me for wanting to catch the guy."

"We'll finish this discussion later," Hotch announced as he walked in, followed by Detective Chan. "Mr. Winter has given us some very interesting information. Detective Chan, I need to find out when Keoni Darwin's charter plane was on Oahu, and if he was the pilot." Chan nodded, gave Anna a slight smile and vanished back into the main room. "Anna, you are not to work anything on this case while on medical leave. Derek, get Garcia on the phone, track down Darwin. As soon as Reid and Elle get back, Derek, Gideon and I are going to the Big Island to have a talk with him."

"What did Luke say?" Derek asked as he got his phone.

"Carrie was on Big Island to talk to Darwin. Apparently, she'd talked Winter into attempting a physical relationship and enjoyed it. Winter said that Darwin only tolerated Carrie because of the asexuality. He believes the man would have reacted violently to any hint that Carrie wasn't asexual." Hotch said.

The room spun into activity, which Derek blocked out to call Garcia. "Office of Supreme Genius," Garcia said, "who seeks enlightenment?"

"Hey Baby Girl," Derek said, "what can you tell me about Keoni Darwin."

"Keoni Darwin," Garcia repeated, fingers clicking over the keyboard. "This may take a little time."

"Whatever you can tell me sweetheart," Derek replied.

"Keoni Darwin," Garcia said, "is a part time ranger at the volcanic national park and spends the rest of his time with his cousin, running a charter plane service that specializes in tours of the volcano. People can take the tour during the day, at sunset and sunrise and at night. He graduated from the University of Hawaii and was born in Kona; his parents split when he was thirteen and his mother moved him to California. He returned shortly after his high school graduation to attend college and has never left. His father lives in Maui. He has no siblings."

Reid and Elle came in with fast food bags, "Lunch," Elle said, "Anna, you're back. How are you feeling?"

"Physically, mentally, spiritually or emotionally?" Anna replied dryly, "Because 'hit by a van' could probably apply to all of the above."

"No pain pills?" Elle asked.

"Not a one," Anna replied and shifted her seat slightly. "Of course, now someone's going to be all over me for that too."

"Elle, you're going to Big Island with me and Gideon," Hotch said.

"I got some of your information," Chan announced as she stepped into the room. "I spoke to my cousin who works at the airport and she's faxing over the data. She told me that Keoni's been taking the sunset and sunrise tours for the past few months because his cousin, Mikala, has been dating some girl. Keoni spends the night with a friend when he's doing but sunset and sunrise tours, to cut down on his flying."

"Make sure J.J. and Reid get that information when it comes in," Hotch said, "Reid, that information, see how it matches up with the deaths we've had. Anna, you are still on medical leave. Don't go anywhere."

"Sir, yes sir," Anna replied dryly.


	12. They Also Serve

Anna had always hated being left behind, and deep down inside, she understood why Hotch was leaving her behind. She had been impulsive and stupid, but she'd done her job, she'd found valuable information and presented it to the team. Derek had put her backpack in the car that morning, and had carried it into the police station for her, the sling for her arm pointedly draped over the top of it. Moving that asked, Anna dug out her laptop and flipped it open.

After typing up her summary on Bloody Mary and sending it off to Sam, Anna began to check other news sources that she regarded as important. Sometimes she found cases that she sent on to her brothers or to Bobby. A few times, she'd sent clues to other BAU teams, or police officers regarding other cases.

"Looking for something specific?" J.J. asked.

Anna glanced up at J.J. and smiled a little, "Not precisely, and nothing related to our case. Mostly I'm just looking for weird stuff. My brothers like that kind of thing. Not weird like alien babies, but things like Bloody Mary and haunted houses and towns, creepy show thrills, if you would. Last year, I got to go along on a Wendigo hunt with Dean. Mostly it was camping and scary stories, but it was pretty fun."

J.J. leaned over to see what she was reading, "You're researching rapists though."

Anna closed the window, "That was something personal, Agent Jareau. Kindly refrain from doing that again."

J.J. blinked and lifted her hands, "I'm sorry, I was just curious."

Anna lifted a single eyebrow and studied her teammate before smiling slightly, "It is ok. I just, really don't want to talk about this. It's a thing, you know, just something I do sometimes when I have free time on my hands."

"Like I said," J.J. replied, "I'm sorry." She shifted back, "I was wondering though, what do your brothers do. I know you said Sam was in school."

"Dean's a traveler," Anna replied, "he's not ready to settle down, he just does odd jobs and keeps moving. He goes where ever the wind takes him, just like our dad. He's a great mechanic, and fairly handy with most tools, he just always wants to see what's over the next hill. Sam never liked the nomadic life. It's all he ever knew and sometimes, I'm afraid he'll end up stuck there again, but he got out. He was at Stanford for so long, I thought he'd have a chance."

"You've picked a pretty nomadic life style too," J.J. offered after a moment, "I mean, you were military and now with us."

"Perhaps," Anna said, "but when we get back to DC, I'll go back to my loft and it'll be the same place as last time. I don't have to carry everything I own in a suitcase."

She carefully didn't look at J.J., only brought up a new word document and began to work on a report for Gideon and Hotch on her activities from that morning. It probably wouldn't get her out of trouble, but it would show the logical progression of events from her waking up early to attempting to contact Morgan, to the decision to go as Lucas to come talk to them at the station. She did add that her decision to go to the Memorial had been a personal choice, to pay respects to the sailors and Marines who had served and died for their country out there. She did not add anything about her break down.

"I've got the information," Ami Chan announced as she came in the conference room. "I also got the name of Keoni's friend. Want me to send a uniform to pick him up?"

"Yes," J.J. said, "please do that."

"No problem," Ami replied and headed back out.

Anna carefully didn't look up as she finished out the last of her report. Instead, once she was done typing, she stretched her shoulder out and messaged it gently. "Shoulder hurt?" Reid asked her.

Anna blinked up at him, "It's just stiff. I wasn't able to work out today, so the muscles are knotting up." She glanced down at the jeans and t-shirt that Chip had bought and brought her, "I probably could do some pushups or something, if you two promise not to have a heart attack."

"You might hurt your shoulder worse," J.J. protested.

"J.J.," Anna said, stood up and gripped her wrist behind her back, "watch." She took a deep breath, and pulled. Her shoulder popped out of joint and went limp. "It's a trick shoulder." She breathed for a moment and then glanced up, "Would you mind helping me real quick?"

"Do what?" J.J. asked.

"Lift my elbow even to my shoulder and help me raise my arm at a ninety degree angle." Anna replied, "That's how I put it back."

"Ok," J.J. said, "I think I can do this."

"I know you can," Anna replied.

It took a few minutes, but Anna shuddered when the joint popped back, "Thanks. I hate doing that."

"Then why did you?" Spencer asked.

"To prove a point," Anna replied. She shrugged, "Besides, it's a handy way to get out of handcuffs. Helpful when you don't have a way to pick a lock on you."

"Why do you know how to get out of handcuffs?" J.J. asked.

Anna grinned, "Ask me no questions, I'll tell you no lies, J.J.."

Ami walked into the room, "Agents," she said, "I sent Tobin out to collect Greg Kinder from his home, but Mr. Kinder wasn't home. According to his neighbor, Kinder is in Japan for the semester doing a teaching exchange. His neighbor does remember seeing Darwin come by some nights, because Kinder had told her that Darwin had permission. Tobin's bringing Mrs. Obikawa to the station to answer a few questions."

"Great," J.J. said, "Gideon, Hotch, Elle and Derek will be landing in Kona soon, they wanted to talk to the police before going to talk to our guy."

Mrs. Obikawa was a tiny, old Hawaiian woman who not only correctly identified Keoni Darwin, but also could positively remember every night that Darwin was at Kinder's house. "I was nine years old the day the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor," she told J.J. and Reid, "I remember the exact sound of the engines as they swept over us. I remember the days afterwards, how we all struggled to keep the wounded alive. I washed bandages until the skin fell off my hands. I remember that I washed two thousand, seven hundred and eighty three bandages. Some of them I washed four times as they were used and reused. Remember who stayed at Greg's house while he was away is a very easy task. It's forgetting that I'll have trouble with."

Reid was able to put Darwin on the Island for every murder, and Mrs. Obikawa could remember him arriving at the house and leaving later. Half those nights, he had a night flight over the volcano. The other half, matched the murders. J.J. turned to Anna, "We got him." Then she called Hotch and gave him the news.

The trip to the Big Island had gone from 'question a suspect' to 'arrest the unsub' and stuck on a different island, the three agents could only wait for word.


	13. A Twisted Trip

"Right," Hotchner said into his phone, "good premise, J.J., there's just one problem."

"One problem?" J.J. asked quietly.

Hotchner moved out of the way of a photographer, "Keoni Darwin is dead. He's been strangled, with an ace of heart glued to his forehead. It's been a day or two."

"What can we do to help?" J.J. asked.

Hotchner closed his eyes, "Anna's off medical leave as long as she takes Reid with her. Find out about people that knew Carrie and Keoni. The two of them are the key."

They hung up and Hotch knelt to take a closer look at the face of Keoni Darwin. "What do you think?" Morgan asked behind him.

"Someone came after him for a reason," Hotch replied. "We need to figure out what the reason was."

"Wasn't there someone else here?" Elle asked. "The girl from Honolulu, where is she?"

"Gina," Hotch said, "and good question." He looked at her, "why don't you see what you can find?'

"On it," Elle replied, pulling out her cell phone.

They wrapped up at Keoni's home and were at the police station when Hotch's phone rang, "Hello?" Hotch said.

"It's J.J.," J.J. said, "I need someone to question a suspect."

"Ok," Hotch replied.

"His name is Alan McDermitt and he works on the top of the Mauna Kea at the observatory." J.J. said. "He's been going to the U of H to talk with astronomy students. Get this, he flies with Keoni Darwin when he goes, they're buddies from the Alliance."

"I'm sending somebody now," Hotch replied.

"Thanks," J.J. said, "be glad Anna's not over there."

"Why's that?" Hotch asked.

"I'll explain later, or she will." J.J. replied dryly.

"I'll call you back with news," Hotch said, "keep looking over there."

"We will," J.J. said, "oh and Anna said to tell you that she'd back a possession story if you have to shoot this guy. She's doing something with her computer and won't explain."

"I'll remember that," Hotch replied.

The drive to the top of Mauna Kea was long and quickly went from warm to cold the further up they went. "The truth of elevation," Derek mused suddenly from the back seat.

"I'm sorry?" Hotch asked.

"Just thinking about how the temperature is dropping so quickly," Derek said. "It's a perfect example of elevation. You think of the weirdest things at the weirdest time."

"I think you're spending too much time with Anna," Elle grumbled.

"I think someone is going to have to spend a lot more time with her," Gideon said. "Anna Campbell has a good mind, but she's not used to our style of team work."

"She is trying though," Derek pointed out, "you have to give her that. She did try to contact me, I just didn't respond."

"True," Hotch said, glancing briefly at Gideon before focusing on the narrow road and the car in front of them. "She is trying."

"She hasn't made the same mistake twice," Derek added. "Once a rule is established, she does follow it for the most part. You can't fault her as an investigator either. She finds information for us."

Hotch sighed, "If you're trying to keep me from reporting Anna's actions, rest assured that I have an alternative available to me. I would, however, like to focus, this road is terrible."

Silence reigned and Hotch focused on driving, trying to put the thought of his newest, and quirkiest agent out of his mind. They reached the observatory about an hour later, the two state police cars with them parking beside them. The agents slid out and headed for the door, none of them bothering to hide their arrival.

A scream of terror jolted the agents into a run. Hotch pulled his gun as Gideon dropped back to let Derek run beside him. "Elle, Gideon," Hotch said and gestured. The two waved and split up each collecting a police officer and heading around the building, looking for another entrance.

A second scream had Hotch easing the door open.

Gunfire made him release the door and backed out of the way, bringing Derek with him. They had just moved out of the entrance when the doors were kicked open. A woman stumbled out the door, shoved by a man in a science coat. "Who are you?" The man demanded.

Hotch lifted his ID, "Supervisory Special Agent Aaron Hotchner," he said, "FBI. We're looking for Alan McDermitt in relations to the death of Carrie Jones."

"Darwin killed Carrie," the man said, "he confessed to me. He told me he did it."

"Are you Alan McDermitt?" Hotch asked.

"Doctor McDermitt," the man said.

"Ok, then put the gun down," Hotch said, "and you can explain how Keoni Darwin came to confess that he killed Carrie Jones."

"No," McDermitt said, as he pulled the woman closer to him, gun coming to rest against the side of her said. "No, I won't."

Hotch shifted his stance and lifted his gun, "What do you want Doctor McDermitt?"

"What do you think I want?" McDermitt said, "I want these, these  _Aces_  to stop jerking people around."

"Killing people isn't going to change anything," Hotch said. "All it's going to do is leave you sitting in a jail cell."

"That's what you think," McDermitt said.

"Put the gun down," Hotch said, firmly.

"No," McDermitt said.

"Put it down before something happens that we all regret," Hotch said.

"That's what you think," McDermitt said, he shoved the woman away and pointed his gun at Hotch.

Two guns roared as Hotch moved. McDermitt jerked as the bullets struck him.

Derek, who had been standing behind McDermitt, kicked the man's gun away as Elle hurried to the woman, "Are you ok?" She asked.

"He killed Keoni," the woman said, "He was."

"It's ok," Elle said gently, "he's not going to hurt you."

"Ms. Gina Magre," Gideon said, "everything's going to be ok."

"Agent Gideon," the woman said, and blinked a few times. "I thought you went back to Honolulu?"

"We came back to speak with Darwin, and then we came up to talk to McDermitt about Carrie Jones," Gideon said.

"Pele was watching over me today," Ms. Magre said, and whispered something Hotch couldn't make out as Gideon helped her stand.

Hotch looked over at Derek, who shook his head. McDermitt was dead.


	14. Home

"Ok," Elle said as they settled onto the plane, "Keoni killed Carrie because she wasn't asexual, sending McDermitt into a psychotic break to kill all the other asexuals in Hawaii, right?"

"That about sums it up," Derek agreed as he sat down across from her.

"What I want to know is why Anna got so upset over McDermitt," Reid said.

"I want to know how you found out about McDermitt," Derek countered.

"Carrie's mother came by with her diary," Reid said, "she thought the book might help. Anna talked to her because we were following other leads and Anna read the diary. She was the one who told us to talk to McDermitt."

"What happened to the diary?" Derek asked.

"Anna gave it to Ami as evidence for the case," Reid said.

"All right," Anna said as she came onto the plane, following Gideon. "I'll do it."

"Hotch and I knew you would," Gideon replied as they took their seats.

"Where's Hotch?" Elle asked.

"He's taking a few days off in Hawaii," Gideon said, "Hailey flew out to be with him for Christmas."

"That's sweet," Elle said as J.J. came on the plane.

"I'm last on," J.J. called up to the pilot.

"This is going to be a long flight," Anna said quietly as they closed the door.

"It's not that bad," Derek commented.

"You aren't afraid of flying," Anna muttered.

"Just out of curiosity," Derek said, "How did you handle that as a Marine? Surely you flew any number of times going back and forth from Iraq and Afghanistan."

"I handled it like a Marine," Anna replied, "with a loud hoo-rah and a gun in my hand."

"How did that work for you?" Derek asked.

"Well, I didn't wet my pants if that's what you're asking," Anna replied as she fastened her seatbelt.

"In other words," Elle said, "it didn't actually work."

"You said it, not me," Anna replied.

"New question," Derek said, "How is your shoulder?"

"It's got an ugly bruise, but otherwise it's doing great," Anna replied with a big smile. "Of course, that's I'm taking six weeks med leave just to make sure of that. Effective tomorrow after I fill out the paperwork."

"Six weeks?" J.J. said.

"That's what I said," Anna replied.

The plane began to move and they all fell silent as the plane taxied down the runaway and into the air. "The real shame is that I didn't get a chance to go that restaurant with Chip. I was looking forward to dinner with an old friend."

"An old friend," Elle said, "really?"

"Yes, really," Anna replied. "He's already taken."

"Oh?" J.J. said.

"Chip always says he's going back into the Navy," Anna said, "but anyone who really knows Chip knows it's a lie. He's in a pair of strong, committed relationships."

"A pair of them," Derek said.

"Technically they're a trio," Anna said, "but they like to imply that they're all cheating on each other because then they get sympathy points from outsiders."

"Ok," J.J. said slowly.

Anna grinned, "I like people who challenge boundaries and walls. I befriend people who knock them down for the hell of it. Chip, V and Alex can't see a boundary, wall or taboo without finding a way to break it, violate it or prove its pointless existence. I like them because they love each other and they make it a point to spread love to people around them. It's just a little bit of light in the world that is so desperately needed."

"I'll remember that," J.J. said quietly.

The flight back to DC was long only in that they were all tired and they were chasing the sun. Most of them slept on the trip back, but every time J.J. woke up, Gideon was still studying a file and Anna was reading one of her text books.

It was early morning when they arrived in DC, but except for Gideon, they all ended up at an all night diner that Anna recommended. "So, how did you end up taking medical leave?" J.J. asked as they ate.

"I'd rather not talk about it," Anna said. "Hotch can explain better."

They were quiet for a while and then the conversation started up again, but Anna was distant, toying with her food as much as eating it.

The sun was beginning to come up when Anna glanced outside, "Oh shit," she said.

"What?" Derek asked.

"There's someone I need to talk to," Anna said and slipped out of the booth. "Do me a favor, wait here, ok."

They watched as Anna headed outside, heading for a man who had just climbed out of a battered pickup truck. "Does anyone else have a bad feeling about this," Derek said suddenly as Anna stepped back from the man slightly.

"I've had a bad feeling about this," Elle said as the pair's conversation devolved into what seemed to be a shouting match between the two.

"Let's go," Derek said.

Elle, J.J. and Reid followed Derek out of the diner after each of them dropped cash on the table. They walked out of the diner in time to see the man strike Anna hard enough to hit the ground.

"Anna," Derek said as he broke into a run.

Anna was starting to get to her feet as Derek and the others arrived to stand between her and the strange man. "You are under arrest," J.J. said, "for striking a federal officer."

"No!" Anna said, lunging up, "J.J., don't."

Derek caught her arm, "Anna, you can't strike a federal agent and get away with it."

"He's my father," Anna ground out, "please. Just let him go."

"Anna, he hit you," Elle said.

Anna snorted, "Dad taught me how to fight in hand to hand combat, Elle. He's hit me before. The only difference is that he's never hit me in anger before." She took a deep breath, "And he never will again. Let him go this one time and I swear that I will never stand between you and him again." She wasn't looking at Elle, or J.J., Derek realized, but at her father. "I ask this one time in memory of the life he gave me, unusual as it was. But I will never stand and speak for him again. If I should ever try, I hope you'll smack me silly."

J.J. sighed and stepped away, "This once," she said quietly.

"Go," Anna said, "get out of my city, John. I can't promise you'll get this chance again."

"Anna," John said, "I'm going to find him."

"And when you do, I'll be there. But until then, it's better for both of us if we don't spend time together."


End file.
